After Unrest, Divisions Grip Anaheim, Disneyland’s Home
Civil unrest over fatal police shootings of two Hispanic men has divided the normally placid city best known as the home of Disneyland and renewed calls by Anaheim’s growing Latino community for a greater say in local government.
The City Council this week voted 3-2 to reject a proposed ballot measure to end Anaheim’s at-large voting system and have council members elected from specific districts, a change that supporters say would have given Hispanics more of a voice in the city of more than 335,000.
The three council members who opposed putting the proposal on the November ballot said they wanted more time to study alternatives to the at-large system.
Latinos make up nearly 53 percent of Anaheim’s population, up from less than 47 percent in 2000, U.S. census figures showed. But only three Latinos have ever been elected to the City Council, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.